quilt

American  

[kwilt] / kwɪlt /

noun

• quilts
  plural

1. a coverlet for a bed, made of two layers of fabric with some soft substance, as wool or down, between them and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses in order to prevent the filling from shifting.

2. anything quilted or resembling a quilt.

3. a bedspread or counterpane, especially a thick one.

4. Obsolete. a mattress.

---

verb (used with object)

• quilts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quilted,
  past participle,  past
• quilting
  present participle

1. to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining), usually in an ornamental pattern.

2. to sew up between pieces of material.

3. to pad or line with material.

verb (used without object)

• quilts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quilted,
  past participle,  past
• quilting
  present participle

1. to make quilts or quilted work.

quilt British  

/ kwɪlt /

noun

1. a thick warm cover for a bed, consisting of a soft filling sewn between two layers of material, usually with crisscross seams

2. a bedspread or counterpane

3. anything quilted or resembling a quilt

---

verb

1. to stitch together (two pieces of fabric) with (a thick padding or lining) between them

   to quilt cotton and wool

2. to create (a garment, covering, etc) in this way

3. to pad with material

4. informal to strike; clout

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quilter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quilts
  plural

Participles

• quilting
  present
• quilted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• quilt
  simple
• quilts
  simple
• have quilted
  perfect
• has quilted
  perfect
• am quilting
  progressive
• are quilting
  progressive
• is quilting
  progressive
• have been quilting
  perfect progressive
• has been quilting
  perfect progressive

Past

• quilted
  simple
• had quilted
  perfect
• was quilting
  progressive
• were quilting
  progressive
• had been quilting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will quilt
  simple
• will have quilted
  perfect
• will be quilting
  progressive
• will have been quilting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of quilt

1250–1300; Middle English quilte < Old French cuilte < Latin culcita mattress, cushion

Explanation

A quilt is a thick cover for a bed, made from pieces of fabric that are stitched together and filled with padding. Quilt is also a verb, so you can quilt a quilt. The simplest quilts have two layers of fabric that are sewn on either side of a layer of batting, a thin type of stuffing. Patchwork quilts have small pieces of cotton sewn into patterns, and the fabric is sewn over the batting with stitches that make decorative designs. A quilt was originally the same thing as a mattress, and the word comes from the Latin culcita, "mattress or bolster."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quilt quilts quilted quilting

That first week, we had a TV and a kind of makeshift conversation pit: a quilt, a mattress, some pillows.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

We’re a quilt of positive and negative traits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

Yet the celebrations continue, with parades and their marching bands, pie-eating contests and quilt shows, tractor exhibits and neon-lit carnival rides.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Husband said fans often looked like a "patchwork quilt" with different colours of shirts in the stands but were brought together by the national dress.

From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026

I emptied the crate, and Mae gave me an old quilt to line it.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

"The sheets I laid, the quilts I covered, and the clothes I wore were all covered with piles of patches," said Xu.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Patriotic 20th-century snapshots; souvenirs from the 1876 centennial; numerous depictions of Washington; flags; eagles and more join quilts, historical documents, paintings, toys and other works from 1776 to the present.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

In the bottom of a chest of quilts were nestled her collection of mugs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

Nearly a year after moving in, Weiss has filled the apartment with her stitched collages, quilts and the artworks of others, many of which she described as “trades.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025

Ollie Mae is the best at making quilts.

From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson

He was last seen wearing a quilted green-brown Barbour jacket over a beige woollen jumper, with navy chinos and brown leather trainers with white soles.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

Vera Bradley, the maker of quilted bags and accessories, is changing strategy again following a rebrand that de-emphasized its signature florals and patterns—and left some of its loyal consumers fuming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

You see, vatnik originally referred to a quilted cotton jacket, the kind worn by Soviet workers, soldiers and prisoners alike.

From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025

Kings Starter jacket, the ribbed corduroy from the house shoes her dad would buy at the swap meet, a quilted inside that draws from the iconographic element of a Chanel bag.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2024

They were being led by a man who wore a vest of chain mail over a quilted blue jacket.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

For example, quilting has long been a domestically appropriate medium for women to express their political beliefs, well before they had the right to vote.

From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2026

Adorned with shimmering squares of fabric, it echoes quilting traditions while reinventing the traditional women’s work of sewing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

"It wasn’t her family pictures, it wasn't her jewellery, it was her quilting."

From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024

Repurposing fabric — from tattered blankets, frayed rags, stained clothes — is a central ethos of the community’s quilting practice, which resists commodification.

From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2024

The girl opened the pine chest by the hearth and removed their quilting.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• bedspread
• blanket
• comforter